1. Field of the Invention
The invention is chiefly a computation circuit or computer using a residual arithmetic, especially on complex numbers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are known methods for making computation circuits using positional notation bases. In a base of this type, any whole number is factorized in a single way on the base elements which are generally the successive powers of a whole number. Any whole number A may be written in a base b in the form: EQU A=a.sub.n b.sup.n +a.sub.n-1 b.sup.n-1 + . . . a.sub.i b.sup.i + . . . +a.sub.3 b.sup.3 +a.sub.2 b.sup.2 +a.sub.1 b+a.sub.0.
There is a one-to-one correspondence between the numbers and the sets of coefficients a.sub.i of their factorization in a given base.
For technological reasons, computation circuits using semiconductor components use mainly the base 2.
Residual arithmetic is known and has been described, in particular, in H. L. Garner, "The Residue Number System", IRE Trans. Elect. Comp., June 1959.
The device according to the present invention uses residual arithmetic to perform computations. In the device according to the invention, the residual arithmetic is adapted and optimized to perform computations and, especially, complex multiplications. Through the choices made in building the most efficient device according to the invention, a complex multiplication amounts to the addition of two whole numbers.
To perform the desired computations, the device according to the present invention converts the data of the positional base into a residual base, performs the operations and reconverts the results into the desired positional notation.
Furthermore, the residual notation enables the performance of computations independently on each digit without any spread of carried-over values. Thus, the device according to the present invention performs computations simultaneously on all the digits.